the nation

Bernard Sanders, Vermont’s independent, left-leaning U.S. Senator, is preparing to launch a longshot campaign for the 2016 Democratic presidential campaign on Thursday, according to sources close to the senator.

A Sanders entry would provide Democratic primary voters with a liberal alternative to presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton, who once served with Sanders in the Senate. Bernie Sanders, as he is universally known, is widely popular in Vermont, a state he has represented in the U.S. House and Senate since his first election to the House in 1990.

Thoughts to ponder while watching March Madness: This is the best time of the year for the college basketball junkies among us. What is more thrilling than wall-to-wall televised hoops generously salted with upsets, buzzer beaters and the endless arguments (and bets) over brackets, conferences and the Final Four. All played out in the college atmosphere of the NCAA tournaments with all the trappings of student cheers, painted faces, pompoms, cheerleaders, crowds fully clad in team colors and the inevitable prancing mascots. Even President Obama fills out his brackets!

It is rare that 5th graders are featured in the lead of the letters section of a major political media outlet. But that is what happened in the most recent issue of the Nation, that liberal publication of politcs and arts.